A millennial woman says there are benefits to returning to the office, but it hasn’t made her more productive

Joy-Ann returned to in-office work.

Joy-Ann

Joy-Ann returned to in-office work in August for the first time in four years.She said there are benefits to working in person, like work-life balance and socializing with peers.Still, she doesn’t think it has made her more productive.

When Joy-Ann started her sales lead position at a digital marketing company in 2022, her role was completely remote.

The 32-year-old, who asked Business Insider to omit her last name for privacy reasons, worked in an office until 2020, when much of the workforce was sent home amid the pandemic.

For the past four years, she has worked from home in New Jersey, even after switching jobs to her current role.

But in August, her New York City-based company started requiring employees to work in the office four days a week.

“I knew it was coming,” Joy-Ann told BI. “I had already mentally prepared myself for it.”

Joy-Ann’s office mandate isn’t uncommon as more companies end their remote-friendly policies by the day. In September, Amazon announced it would require its employees to return to the office five days a week starting in January, joining the ranks of other companies like JPMorgan, Apple, and Disney. Remote work isn’t likely to vanish completely, but experts previously told BI it may be relegated to a perk when companies recruit new talent.

As of October, Joy-Ann has been in the office for just over a month, commuting an hour and a half to and from work each day. She told BI there’s a lot to like about being back in a more traditional work environment, but it hasn’t made her a more productive employee.

The transition

Joy-Ann said she liked the “flexibility” work from home offered her to run midday errands and create her own routine. Still, she’s been pleasantly surprised by the benefits of in-office work.

For instance, she said being back in the office has made her feel less tied to her desk.

“I found myself glued to my computer for hours on end,” she said. “It felt like I had to constantly be available and engaged.”

Joy-Ann said she felt guilty if she actually used the flexibility remote work offered her, checking her phone constantly if she was running an errand in the middle of the day.

Because she works in the office, Joy-Ann said it feels easier to step away from her desk.

She also likes picking out outfits for work because she’s a fashion enthusiast. Plus, her work provides free lunch, so she doesn’t have to spend as much time meal prepping.

At a time when companies need to build employee loyalty, Joy-Ann said she appreciates that her workplace has made coming into the office feel appealing.

Socializing with coworkers has been another benefit of returning to the office, as it allows Joy-Ann to have “real face time” with her team.

“That kind of interaction is refreshing compared to virtual meetings,” she said. “There’s an organic energy that comes with seeing people in person.”

That in-person connection can benefit people’s careers, as Hannes Schwandt, an associate professor of Human Development and Social Policy, previously told BI. He said that the networking opportunities younger employees can make in the office are among the most important benefits of in-person work, and those who work completely remotely can miss out on career-building moments.

For Joy-Ann, those potential networking moments are making her time at work happier, too.

“I’m smiling more,” she said.

She hasn’t seen a productivity boost — yet

Despite the benefits, Joy-Ann told BI that working in the office has not made her more productive at her job — at least not yet.

“I don’t think that my productivity increased whatsoever,” Joy-Ann said.

The sales lead said that her long commute actually makes her workday longer. She typically tries to avoid taking the train during rush hour and finds herself working until 7 p.m. most nights after she gets home.

“With commuting, it’s taking time away from the work that you would be doing when you were at home,” Joy-Ann said.

She also said that although she likes socializing with her colleagues, meetings — which are already a strain on many people’s work calendars — can sometimes take longer because she and her peers are chatting more freely than they did when they worked remotely.

But Joy-Ann doesn’t think it’s a bad thing that in-office work hasn’t skyrocketed her productivity, as her work days feel “more balanced.”

“I can move between meetings,” she said. “Even if I’m just walking to the different meeting rooms, that’s good, especially for my mental health and clarity, which I wasn’t doing as much at home. I had my one spot I would sit at for maybe five or six hours straight.”

For now, Joy-Ann is trying to focus on the positives as much as she can.

“It’s just up to you to figure out how are you going to deal with it and how are you going to benefit from it,” she said.